D'Addario Completes Acquisition of Pro Mark

., the Farmingdale-based string making company, closed an acquisition deal earlier this week of Pro Mark, a drumstick company. D'Addario first became interested in Pro Mark back in the summer of 2010 due to the quality of their products, despite their secondary placement in market share.  

Vic Firth, the largest drumstick company in the world, was also on sale around the same time as Pro Mark, but D'Addario passed on them, according to D'Addario's Vice President of Sales and Marketing David Via.

"Unfortunately, when you're on top, the only direction you can look is down," Via said. "We chose Pro Mark because we felt we would be able apply our expertise to help the company gain market share. There is a lot of potential in the company, and plenty of room to look up."

D'Addario is headquartered in Farmingdale, so new employment opportunities are expected as a result of the acquisition.  "It is still early in the process, but new jobs will be created," Via said. "We will be consolidating our marketing activities, so there will be positions created in that area."

Financial details of the sale are not yet available.

The company is placing more of a focus on manufacturing at their home location, as opposed to off-shore manufacturing.  Last year, they transferred the production of 600,000 guitar straps from off-shore entities back into their operation facilities in Farmingdale. 

"We make 600,000 guitar strings a day, right here in Farmingdale," Via said. "When I tell that to anyone around the world, they are always astounded.  We're very proud that Farmingdale is literally the worlds capital of guitar string manufacturing."

D'Addario will be attending the 2011 NAMM Show at the Anaheim Convention Center in California from Jan. 13-16.  It is one of the largest trade shows for musical instruments and accessories in the world.

D'Addario & Co. Inc. is the world's largest manufacturer of strings for musical instruments, as well as other high quality musical accessories.  They also manufacture accessories under the companies Evans Drumheads, Planet Waves, Puresound and HQ Percussion Rico Reeds.  Pro Mark is a drumstick company, headquartered in Houston, Texas.  They export products to over 100 countries and their products can be found in music stores around the world.